Shogun the samurai epic that takes place in feudal samurai Japan during the 1600’s, (James Clavell’s) book sold over 15 million copies worldwide. It was also adapted as a nine-hour television miniseries in 1980’s, Richard Chamberlain played the lead role of John Blackthorne a 17th century English navigator William Adams who was the first Englishman to visit Japan. James Clavell’s 1975 novel provided westerners with a rare glimpse into the world the of samurai and the rise of the samurai elite “Toranaga” (based on the actual Tokugawa Ieyasu). Tokugawa Ieyasu one of the three great unifiers of Japan bringing an end to the Sengoku period 戦国時代Sengoku jidai, "Age of Warring States"; 1467-1603. Tokugawa Ieyasu was awarded the title and rank of Shogun from Emperor Go-Yozei in 1603 after pacifying the empire. The first great unifier of Nippon was the legendary Samurai Oda Nobunaga, a skilled archer and strategist; he was assassinated June 21, 1582, at Honno-ji, Kyoto by one of his generals, he was several months away from unifying Japan and would have been awarded by the emperor the title Shogun. The second great unifier of Nippon Toyotomi Hideyoshi who had successfully united all of Nippon but was not granted the title of Shogun, due to his family heritage/a poor peasant’s son, Toyotomi was given the title Taiko (prime minister). These three personalities and life styles are contused by the following anecdotes. There is a story told that a cuckoo refuses to sing. Nobunaga’s response was to warn the bird, “sing, or I will end you.” Hideyoshi coaxed the bird saying “I’ll teach you to sing.” While Ieyasu sat back and thought hmmm “I will wait for the bird to sing.”

This week and last I have been leading a private Japan photo tour - workshop for a couple from the USA. We spent two days in around the Tosho-gu shrine, Japans most lavish shrine, dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu and was initially built in 1617 by Ieyasu's son Hidetada who was the 2nd shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, in total there were 15 Tokugawa Shoguns. The last Shogun was Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who many believe was the reincarnation of Tokugawa Ieyasu himself. Nikko lies at the foot of Mt. Nyoho in Tochigi, prefecture and is the home of the Futarasan Shrine, the Toshogu Shrine, and Rinno-ji Temple. These Nikko structures along with the surrounding forest are designated a UNESCO world heritage site and an important cultural property where shrines and temples are balanced in a natural Zen setting.